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The Functions of Sleep Vo l u me 2, Issue 3, 155–171. DOI:10.3934/Neuroscience.2015.3.155 Received date 3 May 2015, Accepted date 12 August 2015, Published date 24 August 2015 http://www.aimspress.com/ Review The Functions of Sleep Samson Z Assefa 1, *, Montserrat Diaz-Abad 1, Emerson M Wickwire 1, and Steven M Scharf 1 1 Sleep Disorders Center, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201 * Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: 410-706-4771; Fax: 410-706-0345 Abstract: Sleep is a ubiquitous component of animal life including birds and mammals. The exact function of sleep has been one of the mysteries of biology. A considerable number of theories have been put forward to explain the reason(s) for the necessity of sleep. To date, while a great deal is known about what happens when animals sleep, there is no definitive comprehensive explanation as to the reason that sleep is an inevitable part of animal functioning. It is well known that sleep is a homeostatically regulated body process, and that prolonged sleep deprivation is fatal in animals. In this paper, we present some of the theories as to the functions of sleep and provide a review of some hypotheses as to the overall physiologic function of sleep. To better understand the purpose for sleeping, we review the effects of sleep deprivation on physical, neurocognitive and psychic function. A better understanding of the purpose for sleeping will be a great advance in our understanding of the nature of the animal kingdom, including our own. Keywords: sleep; sleep function; sleep deprivation; sleep theories; sleep restoration Abbreviations: EEG–electroencephalogram; REM–Rapid eye movement; NREM–non rapid eye movement; BCE–Before the common Era; ICSD3–International classifications of sleep disorders third edition; SWS–slow wave sleep; Ag–Antigen; IgG–Immunoglobulin G; RNA–Ribonucleic Acid; BRFSS–Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; CRP–C reactive protein; PTSD–posttraumatic stress disorder; PVT–psychomotor vigilance task; TIB–time in bed; SWA– Slow Wave Activity; h– hour(s) 1. Introduction All mammals and birds sleep, that is they assume a state of reduced perceptual engagement from the environment with elevated arousal threshold. Sleep is a neurologically dynamic behavior with physical quiescence, elevated arousal threshold and a state of rapid reversibility. Historically, sleep was sometimes considered to be a state between wakefulness and death. In fact, it could be 156 argued that comparison of sleep to a deathlike state, i.e. an absence of function, may have contributed to the delay in the modern scientific study of and understanding of sleep. Sleep patterns vary among species in often surprising ways in order to meet the particular life patterns of each species. Although “we all do it,” the actual overall function of sleep is as yet incompletely understood. The great sleep researcher and pioneer Allen Rechtschaffen noted that “if sleep does not serve an absolute vital function, then it is the biggest mistake the evolutionary process ever made.” [1]. There are many biologic functions associated with sleep, including those that lead to restoration of body, brain and neurocognition. In a later publication, Rechtschaffen reviewed a number of the then existing scientific ideas as to the importance of sleep [2]. He notes that sleep is ubiquitous in higher animals. On the surface, sleep appears to be maladaptive—sleeping humans, for example, desist from procreation, self-protection, and even “making a living.” There appears to be a homeostatic regulation of sleep and sleep loss is followed by rebound sleep. It has been shown that when totally deprived of sleep, rodents die. Further, “sleep” is not a single “state of being.” Sleep in mammals is actually organized in cycles composed of two fundamentally different “states of being:” namely Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM sleep (NREM). The latter is further subdivided into “deep” (slow wave) and “light” stages (Stages 1 and 2). These different sleep stages all have differing biologic manifestations, neurologically and physically. Specific types of brain activity distinguish them. On electroencephalogram (EEG) study, NREM sleep reveals local and global slow cortical oscillations of wave activity (stage 3) and sleep spindles (stage 2). In contrast, during REM sleep the EEG patterns of the brain bear a resemblance to those in waking with associated eye movement in phasic REM stage, and without eye movement in tonic REM sleep [3]. Circadian and homeostatic processes regulate sleep [4]. This is often referred to as the “two- process model” for determination of the state of alertness. Circadian regulation is demonstrated by the maintenance of a 24-hour rhythm cycle in sleep propensity that is independent of prior sleep. The natural cycle of the brain is slightly longer than 24 hours, but it is “resynchronized” each day by the advent of blue light. Thus, normal circadian rhythmicity assures that humans are awake in the daylight (mostly morning) and ready for sleep in the night. Secretion of the hormone melatonin at night by the pineal gland in the brain is one important mechanism assuring the function of the “biologic clock.” Homeostatic regulation is reflected by rise in sleep propensity during waking and its dissipation during sleep. The interaction between circadian driven sleepiness-alertness cycles, and homeostatic (sleep deprivation or excess of wakefulness) is what determines the state of alertness- sleepiness. As will be reviewed in this article, sleep deprivation has many and varied adverse effects on body, mind and psyche. However, one cannot help but wonder as to why the creator (through evolution) saw fit to design animals with the necessity of a period of down time. After all, man’s mechanical contrivances do not usually need to be taken out of commission for daily servicing. For example, for an automobile, a tune-up every 3000 miles or so does quite well. For the purposes of this review, we have taken the view that we can learn about the “function” of sleep by learning about the pathophysiological consequences of sleep deprivation. We have briefly reviewed some of the historical notions about the function of sleep, and have concentrated most of this review on what is known in the scientific literature about the effects of sleep deprivation in humans on physical, mental and psychic restoration. AIMS Neuroscience Volume 2, Issue 3, 155-171. 157 2. Sleep Throughout History Sleep was in fact well recognized by the ancients, and even revered as a state in which human consciousness was open to inputs (supernatural) to which it is not normally receptive. In Genesis 28, verses 11 ff, God describes his plans for the Hebrew Patriarch Jacob while the Patriarch was asleep: “And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.” (Genesis 28, verses 11–13) Dream interpretation was a major activity among ancient holy men, as well as modern psychotherapists. The ancient Egyptians constructed temples for the goddess Isis where congregants and priests would gather to perform dream interpretations. Note the importance of dream interpretation for the “career” of Joseph in ancient Egypt. Joseph’s knack for interpreting Pharaoh’s recurring dreams enabled Joseph’s rise to power from slave to vice regent of the ancient Egyptian kingdom. The ancient Greeks recognized that sleep was not only a portal for divine, or sometimes demonic, interface with man, but of great physiologic importance to well-being. In approximately 350 BCE, Aristotle, in a surprising “modern” evaluation of sleep reported that: “It is inevitable that every creature which wakes must also be capable of sleeping, since it is impossible that it should continue actualizing its powers perpetually. So, also, it is impossible for any animals to continue always sleeping.” [5] Throughout most of man’s history human sleep was considered a “state” in which man was open to communication to deities and demons, or in which man’s “soul” could wander unfettered by the bounds of the physical body. Dreams were variously considered to be messages from seemly or unseemly supernatural entities, or, later as the study of the human mind developed, a reflection of “inner” unexpressed human desires or psychic traits. The study of sleep as a physiologic phenomenon was addressed in the early 20th century by the French scientist Henri Pieron, in his pioneering treatise “Le problem physiologique du sommeil.” [6]. In the 1920’s Nathaniel Kleitman, the father of American sleep research, performed a series of pioneering studies on the regulation of the sleep/wakefulness cycle. His crucial work included descriptions of sleep characteristics in different populations and effects of sleep deprivation. In 1953, along with his graduate student Aserinsky, he described the state of REM sleep [7]. Another of Kleitman’s students, Dr. William C. Dement, extended Kleitman’s work, describing the cyclical nature of sleep and established that vivid dreams occurred during REM sleep. In addition, Dement engaged in research on animals that opened the way for elucidation of electrophysiological, pharmacological, and biochemical correlates of different sleep stages under various circumstances [8]. Since the pioneering work of these and many other workers, the field of sleep medicine has expanded and become a recognized medical discipline with a specified training process, research AIMS Neuroscience Volume 2, Issue 3, 155-171.
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